Extreme Weather Events And Public Health Responses

by Kirch, W.; Menne, B.; Bertollini, R.

• ISBN13: 9783540244172
• ISBN10: 3540244174
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-16
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The global climate is changing. During the last 100 years warming has been observed in all continents with an average increase of 0.6 A? 0.2A?C (man A? SD) in the course of the 20th century. The greatest temperature changes occurred at middle and high latitudes in the northern hemispheres. The trend towards warmer average surface temperatures for the period since 1976 is roughly three times that of the past 100 years as a whole. In the last decades warming seems to be attributable to human activities (man-made environmental changes) like land-use changes, deforestation, urbanisation and the reduction of wetlands. Global climate change is likely to be accompanied by an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Climate variability occurs at both the level of gradual change as well as the level of extreme events. Extreme weather events are those events which society is unable to cope with. They are by definition rare stochastic events. Europe has experienced on unprecedented rate of extreme weather events in the last 30 years. Heat waves occurred in France, Italy, Portugal, Russian Federation, Hungary and Bulgaria between 2000 and 2003. The annual number of warm extremes increased twice as fast as expected based on the corresponding decrease in the rate of cold extremes. On the other hand cold waves brought serious health problems to Northern Europe, Russian Federation and even Bosnia Herzegovina. In 2002 Romania suffered deleterious windstorms and Public Health responses were necessary. Last but not least, in recent years severe flooding occurred in many European countries like U.K., Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy and Germany causing enormous damages, e.g. in August 2002. On the basis of current predictions on climate, more extreme weather events have to be faced in the coming years and they are likely to be more severe. Thus appropriate actions have to be undertaken in order to protect the population and the countries affected. In this book, articles under the following headings are published: "Climate variability and extremes in Europe", "Temperature extremes and health impact", "Response to temperature extremes", "Flooding: the impact on human health", "National case-studying of health care system responses to extreme weather events" and "Recommendations for Public Health responses to extreme weather events". They shed light on the mode of development and the damages caused by extreme weather events and finally give some hints of what has to be done to cope with them.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Rudolf Zajac
R. Zajac
Foreword	xiii
Karin Zaunberger
K. Zaunberger
Preface	xv
Wilhelm Kirch
W. Kirch
Preface	xvii
Jacqueline McGlade
Roberto Bertollini
J. McGlade
R. Bertollini
Editorial	xix
W. Kirch
Extreme Weather Events and Health: An Ancient New Story	xxvii
B. Menne
List of Authors	xli
Climate Variability and Extremes in Europe	1	(56)
The Climate Dilemma	3	(10)
A. Navarra
Projected Changes in Extreme Weather and Climate Events in Europe?	13	(12)
G. R. McGregor
C. A. T. Ferro
D. B. Stephenson
Is the Frequency and Intensity of Flooding Changing in Europe	25	(8)
Z. W. Kundzewicz
Bio-climatological Aspects of Summer 2003 Over France	33	(14)
J.-C. Cohen
J.-M. Veysseire
P. Bessemoulin
Improving Public Health Responses to Extreme Weather Events	47	(10)
K. L. Ebi
Temperature Extremes and Health Impact	57	(72)
Cold Extremes and Impacts on Health	59	(10)
J. Hassi
Temperature Regulation, Heat Balance and Climatic Stress	69	(12)
G. Havenith
Health Impact of the 2003 Heat Wave in France	81	(8)
S. Vandentorren
P. Empereur-Bissonnet
Portugal, Summer 2003 Mortality: the Heat Waves Influence	89	(10)
R. M. D. Calado
J. S. Botelho
J. Catarino
M. Carreira
The Effects of Temperature and Heat Waves on Daily Mortality in Budapest, Hungary, 1970---2000	99	(10)
A. Paldy
J. Bobvos
A. Vamos
R. S. Kovats
S. Hajat
Epidemiologic Study of Mortality During Summer 2003 in Italian Regional Capitals: Results of a Rapid Survey	109	(12)
S. Conti
P. Meli
G. Minelli
R. Solimini
V. Toccaceli
M. Vichi
M. C. Beltrano
L. Perini
Heat Waves in Italy: Cause Specific Mortality and the Role of Educational Level and Socio-Economic Conditions	121	(8)
P. Michelozzi
F. de'Donato
L. Bisanti
A. Russo
E. Cadum
M. DeMaria
M. D' Ovidio
G. Costa
C. A. Perucci
Response to Temperature Extremes	129	(44)
Lessons of the 2003 Heat Wave in France and Action Taken to Limit the Effects of Future Heat Waves	131	(10)
T. Michelon
P. Magne
F. Simon-Delavelle
Examples of Heat Health Warning Systems: Lisbon's ICARO's Surveillance System, Summer of 2003	141	(20)
P. J. Nogueira
Lessons from the Heat Wave Epidemic in France (Summer 2003)	161	(6)
L. Abenhaim
How Toronto and Montreal (Canada) Respond to Heat	167	(6)
T. Kosatsky
N. King
B. Henry
Flooding: The Impacts on Human Health	173	(62)
Lessons to be Learned from the 2002 Floods in Dresden, Germany	175	(10)
D. Meusel
W. Kirch
The Human Health Consequences of Flooding in Europe: A Review	185	(12)
S. Hajat
K. L. Ebi
R. S. Kovats
B. Menne
S. Edwards
A. Haines
Mortality in Flood Disasters	197	(10)
Z. W. Kundzewicz
W. J. Kundzewicz
Key Policy Implications of the Health Effects of Floods	207	(18)
E. Penning-Rowsell
S. Tapsell
T. Wilson
Learning from Experience: Evolving Responses to Flooding Events in the United Kingdom	225	(10)
M. McKenzie Hedger
National Case-Studies on Health Care System Responses to Extreme Weather Events	235	(28)
Extreme Weather Events in Bulgaria for the Period 2001--2003 and Responses to Address Them	237	(6)
R. Chakurova
L. Ivanov
2002 - A Year of Calamities - The Romanian Experience	243	(6)
A. Cristea
A System of Medical Service to assist the Population of Uzbekistan in the Case of Natural Catastrophes	249	(6)
A. A. Khadjibayev
E. M. Borisova
Moscow Smog of Summer 2002. Evaluation of Adverse Health Effects	255	(8)
V. Kislitsin
S. Novikov
N. Skvortsova
Recommendations	263	(10)
Extreme Weather Events: What Can We Do to Prevent Health Impacts?	265	(8)
B. Menne
Annex	273	(14)
``Public Health Response to Extreme Weather and Climate Events'' Working Paper of the 4th Ministerial Conference for Environment an Health, Budapest, June 2004	275	(8)
Currently ongoing Study on Health Effects of Extreme Weather Events: The Follow-up Programme on the Influence of Meteorological Changes Upon Cardiac Patients	283	(4)
I. Heim
Subject Index	287